EMPLOYEE THEFT AS SOCIAL CONTROL.

Employee theft is generally regarded as a serious offense not only by those responsible for assuring organizations operate as efficiently as possible, but by social scientists studying this phenomenon. Furthermore, in most modern settings, it is defined as criminal and subject to punishment. Although usually classified as deviant, theft is in many instances also a reaction to what employees consider is deviant behavior on the part of their employer. Consequently, a theory of social control, rather than a theory of crime, is more appropriate in explaining such theft by employees. This paper suggests that theft, as a mode of social control, is most likely among employees who occupy marginal positions in organizations, including those at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy, those with little tenure, and those with few social lies. Ways of reducing employee theft consistent with this hypothesis are explored. It is concluded, however, that theft by employed members of organizations is in many cases inevitable and given the nature of modem social life likely to increase in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]